Display stand



Oct. 29, 1929. R. u. ALEXANDER w A]. 1,733,214

DISPLAY STAND Filed April 11, 1.928

20 Q Fig.3- m /7 f9 INVENTORS E0552?" 0. AL EMA/pee y 1005 $.A 855M M A TTORNEYS Patented Oct. 29, 1929 ROBERT U, ALEXANDER AND LOUIS e. LARSEN, or JERSEY 0ITY,- NEW JERSEY; SAID LARSEN ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES s. SIEGEL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DISPLAY seam:

A plication filed April 11,

This invention relates to display stands and particularly to display stands for Window curtains, draperies or the like.

In the retail merchandising of lace curtains' or other drapery materials it is desirable to have a display stand or' rack constructed to simulate an ordinary window frame and upen which the material can be readily draped or hung to enable the prospective purchaser to get an idea as to how the niaterial'will appear when hung or draped in position on a window. Although display stands of the above" character have been used, such stands as heretofore constructed have been heavy cumbersome structures, usually made of wood, and, because of their great weight, they ordinarily are not portable. Furthermore such stands as heretofore constructed have been very expensive to manuactu're so that their u'se was practically limited to large establishments. I

I The principal object of the present invention is t'oprovi'de' a" new and improved cons'tru c'ti'on for a display stand of the Window type that Will be simple'and therefore of low cost.

Another object is to provide a stand that will be of light weight and readily portable, While at the same time possessing great sturdiness, straight and rigidity, thereby enabling it to Withstand considerable rough usage and handling.

Another obiect is' to so construct the display stand that it can be shipped in compact knock-down condition and which can be readily assembled by the intended user merely by bolting a few pieces together, the operation of assembling the device'being so simple that very little mechanical skill is required to perform the assembling operation.

The above and other objects will appear more fully from the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof wherein Fig 1 is a front elevation of a display stand constructed in accordance with the principles of our inventiohzF 2 is side elevation and Fig. 3 is a plan View, partly broken away and partly in section.

As shown in the drawings the stand com- 1928'. seriai No;- 269,077.

prises a rectangular frame having the size and shape of an ordinary standard size Window frame. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the frame, as shown, is constructed of a plurality of flat iron or steelmembers consisting of the side pieces or uprightslO and 11, an upper member 12 a lower member 13, and a central or intermediate member 4 As clearly shown in Fig. 1 o'f-th'e drawing the members 12, 13 and 14 are of a'sini'ilar con struction, theends'of each member being'bent at right angles to the main portion'the'reof to form the attaching flanges 15; The top member 12 is preferably located with its top face in alignment with the upper extremities of the uprights 10 and 11. The bottom men.- ber 13' isloeated short distance above the lower extremities of said uprights,- While the intermediate member 14 is located" at the short distance bellow' the horizontal center line of the rectangle formed by theuprights 10, 11 and top'aird' bottom members 12 and 13 respectively. p I 7 Each of'th'e cross pieces12-, 13,- 14, i s secured to the uprigl1ts10, 11 by meansof a pair of bolts 16 which pass through suitable holes provided in said uprights and the plates 15. The rectangular frame above referred to is supported by a pair of base mernbers" 17, the construction of each of which is similar. These base members 17 may be of any suitable construction, capable of furnishing a means for carrying the casters 18, of providing a support of sufficienth'orizonta l extent to maintain the stand in a position of stable equilibrium, and of serving as a support for the rectangular frame worlrwhich w'ill hold the latter in a vertical position. -We have shown the base member 17 as formed of apiece of fiat iron or steel 19 bent to a substantially oblongconfiguration, one end of said base 19 being provided with an offset bend which overlaps the other end of said member, and the twe overlapping ends being connected together byany suitable means such as the rivets 20. Secured to the upper face of the bent piece 19 isa bracket 21 also constructed of flat iron. bent to approximately the shape of an inverted U and having at the extremities of the legs of the U a pair of lateral projecting attaching flanges 22. Any suitable means, such as bolts, screws or rivets, may be employed for securely attaching the bracket 21 to the base piece 19.

The central horizontally extending web of the bracket 21 and the upper horizontal leg of the base piece 19 are provided with elongated slots through which the lower ends of the uprights 10, 11 are adapted to pass with a sliding lit. Suitable apertures are drilled through the horizontally extending portions of the base member 19 for the reception of the shanks of the casters 18.

In order to provide the required strength and rigidity to the upright rectangular frame work a pair of tension cables 24 are provided. Each of these cables terminates at its upper end in a hook 25 which passes through a suitable aperture provided a short distance below the top of each upright 10, 11. The lower end of each cable passes through an eye bolt 26 which forms one of the threaded members of. a turn-buckle 27. The other threaded member 28 of the turn-buckle terminates at its outer end in a hook 29 which passes through a suitable aperture provided in the lower'cross brace 13 a sufficient distance from the end thereof to permit the turn-buckle parts to clear the bracket 21 of the supporting base. As clearly shown in Fig. 1 the cables or wires 24 extend substantially diagonally of the frame. and their intersection passes through an aperture 30 provided at the center of the intermediate cross braces 14. In order to insure a bracing action of the wires 24 at their point ofintersection a pair of plates 31 is preferably secured to the cross brace 14 by means of the elongated slots 32 and screws 33, the elongated slots permitting the plates to be slid along the cross brace 14 until the semi-circular recesses 34 at the inner ends of the plates are in snug engagement with said wires.

Secured to the top piece 12 at the side edges thereof is a pair of blocks 35, preferably of wood, to which is adapted to be secured a pair of fixtures 36 for supporting an ordinary window shade 37.

The parts which comprise the device may be shipped in knock-down form and as will be readily understood form a compact, relatively small package. The manner in which the parts are assembled is as follows: The crosspieces 12 and 14 are secured to the uprights 10, 11 by means of the bolts 16. After the above members have been so assembled the two lower ends of the uprights are passed through the aligned elongated slots provided in the brackets 21 and upper horizontal leg of the base member 19, with the lower rounded ends of the uprights supported upon the inner faces of the lower horizontal leg of said base member. The lower cross piece 13 is then bolted to the uprights after which the wires 24 are properly secured to the rectangular frame. The turn buckles 27 are then tightened to put the wires 24 in tension. After the wires 24 have been properly tensioned, the plates 31 are slid into tight engagement with said wires and are tightened in position; the assembling of the device then being completed.

The manner in which the device is used will be readily understood, curtains, or other drapery material, being placed upon the upright frame work to display the same.

The frame work is preferably constructed of flat iron or steel pieces of about threeeights by one inch dimensions. It will thus be seen that the entire device is of relatively light weight and, as it is mounted upon the casters 18 it can very readily be pushed along the floor from one part of a store to another. part, either to move the stand from one supply of merchandise to another, or to bring it closer to a window or other source of light in order that a purchaser may be able to ascertain the appearance of the merchandise being displayed under different light conditions.

it will be noted from the above that the construct-ion is of marked simplicity and therefore that the device can be manufactured and sold at a low cost. It will also be seen that the assembling operation is quite simple; all that is required being to place the parts in position and to insert and tighten six bolts and then to insert the wires 24 in position and tighten two turn buckles. It will be understood that although the constructional example selected for illustration is a satisfactory, practical and preferred embodiment ofv the invention, that many changes, and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the principles of the invention.

V le claim:

1. A display stand for curtains, draperies or the like comprising a pair of uprights, a bottom cross-brace, a top cross brace and a pair of base members, said uprights and cross braces being bolted together to form a rectangular open frame resembling an ordinary window, and said base members being provided with a pair of vertically spaced, horizontally extending supports having aligned slots therein in which the lower ends of said uprights are adapted to be detachably received, said supports serving to hold said frame in a vertical position.

2. A display stand for curtains, draperies or the like comprising a pair of uprights, a bottom cross-brace, a top cross brace and a pair of base members, said uprights and cross braces being bolted together to form a rectangular open frame resembling an ordinary window, and said base members being provided with a pair of vertically spaced, horizontally extending supports having aligned slots therein in which the lower end of said bottom cross brace,

uprights are adapted to be detachably received, said supports serving to hold said frame in a vertical position and said base members extending laterally from each side of said slots and being provided adjacent to the outer ends thereof with casters, said casters forming a plurality of widely separated supports for holding said stand in a position of stable equilibrium.

3. A display stand for curtains, draperies or the like, comprising a pair of uprights, a a top cross brace, and an intermediate cross brace, bolted together to form a knock-down rectangular open frame resembling an ordinary window frame, said intermediate cross brace being provided with a central aperture,a pair of tension wires, having their ends detachably secured to said frame and their intersection at the center of said intermediate cross brace, a pair of plates mounted on said intermediate cross brace for slidable movement into contacting engagement with said wires at said intersection, means for securing said plates in such engagement and a pair of extended base memers in which said frame is detachably mounted.

4. A display stand for curtains, draperies or the like, comprising a pair of uprights, a bottom cross brace, a top cross brace, and an intermediate cross brace, bolted together to form a knock-down rectangular open frame resembling an ordinary Window frame, a pair of tension Wires, having their ends detachably secured to said frame and their intersection at the center of said intermediate cross brace, a'pair of plates mounted on said intermediate cross brace for slidable movement into contacting engagement with said wires at said intersection, means for securing said plates in such engagement and a pair of extended base members in which said frame is detachably mounted, said base members, cross braces and uprights being constructed of flat stock metal, said base members being bent to form a pair of horizontally extending spaced lengths, and a bracket secured to the upper of said lengths having a horizontally extending portion spaced above said upper length, said portion of said bracket and said upper length being provided with aligned slots in which the lower ends of said uprights are received with the lowermost extremity of said uprights supported on the lower length of said bracket.

5. A display stand for curtains, draperies or the like, comprising a pair of uprights and a plurality of cross pieces formed of flat metal together to form a rectangular open frame work, resembling an ordinary window frame, a pair of base members with which the lower ends of said uprights are engaged to hold said frame work in a vertical position, said base members having a pair of vertically spaced horizontally extending portions provided with aligned slots in which the lower ends of said uprights are engaged and one of said cross pieces being detachably secured to said upright below one of said portions to form a stop which prevents accidental disengagement of said frame work from said base members.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

ROBERT U. ALEXANDER. LOUIS G. LARSEN. 

